Metallic guidewires used for vascular interventions are configured to be highly bendable to enable transportation of the guidewire through vascular organs such as blood vessels. In spite of their bendable capabilities it is known that guidewires may kink, break or fracture and thereby increase the risk of vascular damage by sharp parts or loss of guidewire parts inside the patient.
Accordingly, there is a need to reduce or eliminate the risk of breakdown of guidewires.
JP 2000005320 discloses a guidewire configured in a way that the risk of permanent deformation or breakage even against bending by a small radius is reduced. The guidewire consists of a fiber-re-inforced plastic (FRP) core wire obtained by converging many fibers in an axial direction and integrating them with a synthetic resin and a synthetic resin layer coating the outer periphery of the wire. In this case, a cavity is made to exist inside the wire; thereby the optical fibers in the wire flexibly follow curving by the existence of the cavity. Thus, there is no worry about permanent deformation even against curving of a small radius and there is no worry about complete breakage even after being kinked.
Whereas JP 2000005320 discloses a guidewire configured to reduce the risk of permanent deformation or breakage due to bending, the inventor of the present invention has appreciated that other improvements for avoiding damage of guidewires would be of benefit, and has in consequence devised the present invention.